Chicken Saltimbocca with Artichoke Sauce

This looks soooo tasty and it was. 🙂 Your family and guests will really love this dish; so, give it a try. We did and loved it.

Back when I cooked professionally, I worked with some incredibly talented people. Some of these chefs were every bit as good as any “Celebrity Chef” we see today. They just went about their business making fabulous tasting food that was beautifully plated and people loved. It was always a pleasure to work with these people and just to watch them work. They taught me incredible amounts and gave me a true appreciation for food and its preparation. These are the people who truly taught me to cook. Of course, in the late 60s and 70s, there was no Food Channel and there wasn’t much in the way of cooking shows. We had Julia Child who was a wonderful human being and teacher but whose voice would (and still does) drive me nuts. There was Graham Kerr, “The Galloping Gourmet” who always entertained me with his antics and constant consumption of wine. Last, there was the Justin Wilson show with Justin Wilson spinning his cajun stories that would keep me laughing all while he was showing you cajun and creole dishes.

With the constant need to keep up with the Joneses and the explosion of fast food, cooking in the US started becoming a dying art in the late 70s through the 80s. People really lost the desire to cook as they were simply too busy and no one showed them how to cook. The fine dining scene was rapidly replaced with run-of-the-mill family restaurants and fast food. That all changed in the 90s with the advent of the Food Channel and all of their celebrity chefs, i.e. Emeril Lagasse (having long been a fan of the Commander’s Palace and having dined there on multiple occasions I already knew of Emeril and had even met him), Mario Batali, the Iron Chefs, et al. All of the sudden, people once again became interested in food. It was during this time that I was first exposed to Sara Moulton. I really enjoy Sara Moulton. She really doesn’t get the recognition she deserves. She is down to earth, remarkably talented and her instructions are easy to follow. Her recipes are well thought out and I have yet to try one that didn’t come out wonderful. This is one of her recipes.

Now, saltimbocca is an Italian/Roman based dish that was originally made with scallopini of veal and sage and marinated. It can be served as an appetizer or as an entree. At some point in its history chicken was also used as the meat, as was pork. Like every dish there are many permutations and spinoffs of the classic. In this dish, Sara added artichoke hearts. This is what caught Baby Lady’s attention and she e-mailed me the recipe with a request we make it for dinner. This is what we did.

Place plastic wrap over a cutting board and another layer of plastic wrap over the chicken. Now, taking out the aggression of the day, pound the chicken a rolling pin or meat pounder until the breast is about 1/4 inch thick or so. (I prefer the rolling pin because I can pretend the chicken is Daniel aka Knothead 😮 and he deserves it)

Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat until hot; then reduce to medium and add the chicken to the skillet. My skillet would only hold 2 chicken slices at a time. Pounded out, these little bad boys take up a lot of surface space.

Sauté for another 2 minutes or until just cooked through. Remove them to a rack and place them in a preheated 200 F oven until ready to serve. Add another Tbsp of oil or so to the skillet and repeat the process with the remaining chicken until done.

Now, add the sherry to the skillet and deglaze the skillet scraping up the sucs or fond.

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13 thoughts on “Chicken Saltimbocca with Artichoke Sauce”

Wonderful! Whenever I can get white ‘milk’ veal this is the first dish of which I think, but have never made it with chicken or used artichokes! Shall try both!!!!! Greatly amused at your recollections – I am afraid I ‘cringed’ every time Graham Kerr came on show [remember he was supposedly Australian at that stage!!] . . . . I really have to find out more about your ‘Food Channel’ . . . Australia has become such a hugely multicultural foodie nation that many not interested continuously complain about there being naught to watch on nightly TV but food shows 🙂 ! Sure, on Pay-TV we also have ‘foodie’ channels but almost every free station almost every night has such a fun array of really good fare!! Oh, since you do like your chillies, hope you have read and smiled at today’s ‘Mad Dog’ offering of goat curry using Scotch Bonnets!!!!!!!

When I started watching foodie shows it was in the days of Yan Can Cook and The Frugal Gourmet! I “devoured” those shows. And yes, I watched Graham Kerr too, although not as much. Oh there was also that Italian lady, I can’t remember her name now. I still own many of Jeff Smith’s cook books, even though he’s been accused of some unsavory behavior, because his writing style and recipes are so wonderful! Anyhoot, I love your recipe here. Chicken and artichokes along with some bacony-stuff is taste porn, for sure! It’s something I’ll have to keep in mind after moving. My kitchen is getting packed tomorrow except a few bare essentials…

Didn’t Marcella Hazan also appear on the US TV? Adore[d] the lady and still cook from her books! Just so sorry I never made it to her Bologna or Venetian classes – yup, she did actually live and work in the States for most of her life 🙂 !

Hi Richard, this only has a vague resemblance to traditional saltimbocca (for me the sage is what defines the dish) — but it does sound delicious. Prosciutto and basil is great in ravioli (with mozzarella), so it should also work with chicken 🙂 What sherry do you use? There are so many types that have very different flavors such as manzanilla and oloroso. I don’t know any of the cooking shows you mention. I’ve stopped watching cooking shows as they have either blatant product placement or are more about personalities than the food.